Published: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at 5:03 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at 5:03 p.m.

State parks managers have received the offers from potential vendors wanting to operate at Silver Springs. And Marion County government was not among them.

But who else might be in the hunt to run the glass-bottomed boat rides, Wild Waters, the musical concerts, or any other service state officials have in mind is literally a state secret — for now.

A spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection said although the deadline for submitting bids ended Monday night, it might be weeks before the identities of the prospective contractors are revealed.

DEP spokeswoman Dee Ann Miller said the proposals for the park were exempt from disclosure under a provision of the state’s public records law that governs the handling of competitive solicitations for state projects.

According to her, the DEP would not be required to release the information until the agency had announced to the parties that it was ready to make a decision or until 30 days after the bids are opened — whichever comes first.

Thus, the agency could keep mum on its list of suitors until May 23.

“The next step in the process is that parks staff will evaluate the proposals and negotiate with prospective vendors to secure the best deal for the state of Florida and for the visitors of Silver Springs,” Miller said in an email.

Miller noted that negotiations with its eventual contractors at Silver Springs are not scheduled to begin until June 5.

One name that was definitely not on the state’s list was Marion County, which two years ago had tried to build a case to manage Silver Springs, only to see it fail when the board divided over the county’s role.

County Commissioner Stan McClain, the board’s point man on Silver Springs, said there were too many uncertainties about the state’s plan for the county to be involved as a concessionaire.

A few weeks ago, the county had a keen interest in taking an active role at the attraction, which will be absorbed into the neighboring Silver River State Park on Oct. 1.

Over two days in early March staffers attended hours of meetings, as did the county’s hired economic consultant, who is helping develop a plan for reviving the economic climate around the attraction, to hear Florida Parks Service officials spell out what services were needed come October and how they would be provided.

McClain had said at the end of March that the county wanted to be the lead concessionaire and, as the quasi manager of the renowned 242-acre site, subcontract out those services that the state has now accepted bids for.

Now, however, McClain says the state’s laudable efforts at being “open-minded” in its approach to reap and spread the economic benefits of converting the attraction to a park have left things too open-ended for the county.

For example, McClain maintained it was unclear who might be liable for environmental problems that might arise after the departure of Palace Entertainment, the California-based theme park operator that has run Silver Springs since 2002.

Moreover, the state’s concept did not seem settled on the division of labor, McClain noted.

The state is willing to divvy up various functions at the park, such as operating the Wild Waters Water Park, the glass-bottomed boat rides and the musical concerts.

But, McClain pointed out as an example, it was not determined how customers could access various areas of the facility on days with multiple events if different vendors got separate pieces of the pie.

Further, he added that it appeared the DEP, which oversees the state park system, wanted a short-term arrangement with its service providers until its long-range management plan for the park is completed.

That plan, which will outline a 10-year strategy for managing the site, is expected to be finished by September 2014, the DEP has said.

McClain acknowledged that the county did not have a backup plan at this point to have a greater say running Silver Springs — something McClain and others in the community have championed since early 2011, when Palace first publicly expressed a willingness to exit the park ahead of the expiration of its lease in 2029.

Palace will now leave as of Sept. 30 after Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet in January approved amending the state’s lease with the company.

Yet the county will have a role going forward, McClain noted.

For one thing, McClain recalled that the county, through an agreement with the DEP, is leading the effort to draft a management plan for the Silver Springs basin.

That plan will ultimately convey anti-pollution initiatives across a half-million-acre area, spread over three counties, that will curtail contamination in Silver Springs.

“We’ll continue to interject from an environmental standpoint,” McClain said.

County officials also will not relent in arguing the case that Silver Springs is a vital link to a larger ecotourism mecca that spans 500,000 acres of county, state and federal lands, McClain said.

“Our involvement going forward is going to be about how to connect all these properties together to create this ecotourism hub,” he said. “That’ll be the drum we’ll continue to beat.”

Another of those who initially showed interest but apparently took a pass on Silver Springs was Amusement Management Partners in Jacksonville, whose chief executive officer, Curtis Parks, and vice chairman, Bill Sims, had both worked for companies that at some point had managed Wild Waters and Silver Springs, respectively.

Neither could be reached for comment.

According to Jake Varn, a Tallahassee lawyer who had worked with the firm on its Silver Springs offer, the company bowed out after concluding there were too many risks and unknowns to pursue a deal with the state.

<p>State parks managers have received the offers from potential vendors wanting to operate at Silver Springs. And Marion County government was not among them.</p><p>But who else might be in the hunt to run the glass-bottomed boat rides, Wild Waters, the musical concerts, or any other service state officials have in mind is literally a state secret — for now.</p><p>A spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection said although the deadline for submitting bids ended Monday night, it might be weeks before the identities of the prospective contractors are revealed.</p><p>DEP spokeswoman Dee Ann Miller said the proposals for the park were exempt from disclosure under a provision of the state's public records law that governs the handling of competitive solicitations for state projects.</p><p>According to her, the DEP would not be required to release the information until the agency had announced to the parties that it was ready to make a decision or until 30 days after the bids are opened — whichever comes first.</p><p>Thus, the agency could keep mum on its list of suitors until May 23.</p><p>“The next step in the process is that parks staff will evaluate the proposals and negotiate with prospective vendors to secure the best deal for the state of Florida and for the visitors of Silver Springs,” Miller said in an email.</p><p>Miller noted that negotiations with its eventual contractors at Silver Springs are not scheduled to begin until June 5.</p><p>One name that was definitely not on the state's list was Marion County, which two years ago had tried to build a case to manage Silver Springs, only to see it fail when the board divided over the county's role.</p><p>County Commissioner Stan McClain, the board's point man on Silver Springs, said there were too many uncertainties about the state's plan for the county to be involved as a concessionaire.</p><p>A few weeks ago, the county had a keen interest in taking an active role at the attraction, which will be absorbed into the neighboring Silver River State Park on Oct. 1.</p><p>Over two days in early March staffers attended hours of meetings, as did the county's hired economic consultant, who is helping develop a plan for reviving the economic climate around the attraction, to hear Florida Parks Service officials spell out what services were needed come October and how they would be provided.</p><p>McClain had said at the end of March that the county wanted to be the lead concessionaire and, as the quasi manager of the renowned 242-acre site, subcontract out those services that the state has now accepted bids for.</p><p>Now, however, McClain says the state's laudable efforts at being “open-minded” in its approach to reap and spread the economic benefits of converting the attraction to a park have left things too open-ended for the county.</p><p>For example, McClain maintained it was unclear who might be liable for environmental problems that might arise after the departure of Palace Entertainment, the California-based theme park operator that has run Silver Springs since 2002.</p><p>Moreover, the state's concept did not seem settled on the division of labor, McClain noted.</p><p>The state is willing to divvy up various functions at the park, such as operating the Wild Waters Water Park, the glass-bottomed boat rides and the musical concerts.</p><p>But, McClain pointed out as an example, it was not determined how customers could access various areas of the facility on days with multiple events if different vendors got separate pieces of the pie.</p><p>Further, he added that it appeared the DEP, which oversees the state park system, wanted a short-term arrangement with its service providers until its long-range management plan for the park is completed.</p><p>That plan, which will outline a 10-year strategy for managing the site, is expected to be finished by September 2014, the DEP has said.</p><p>McClain acknowledged that the county did not have a backup plan at this point to have a greater say running Silver Springs — something McClain and others in the community have championed since early 2011, when Palace first publicly expressed a willingness to exit the park ahead of the expiration of its lease in 2029.</p><p>Palace will now leave as of Sept. 30 after Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet in January approved amending the state's lease with the company.</p><p>Yet the county will have a role going forward, McClain noted.</p><p>For one thing, McClain recalled that the county, through an agreement with the DEP, is leading the effort to draft a management plan for the Silver Springs basin.</p><p>That plan will ultimately convey anti-pollution initiatives across a half-million-acre area, spread over three counties, that will curtail contamination in Silver Springs.</p><p>“We'll continue to interject from an environmental standpoint,” McClain said.</p><p>County officials also will not relent in arguing the case that Silver Springs is a vital link to a larger ecotourism mecca that spans 500,000 acres of county, state and federal lands, McClain said.</p><p>“Our involvement going forward is going to be about how to connect all these properties together to create this ecotourism hub,” he said. “That'll be the drum we'll continue to beat.”</p><p>Another of those who initially showed interest but apparently took a pass on Silver Springs was Amusement Management Partners in Jacksonville, whose chief executive officer, Curtis Parks, and vice chairman, Bill Sims, had both worked for companies that at some point had managed Wild Waters and Silver Springs, respectively.</p><p>Neither could be reached for comment.</p><p>According to Jake Varn, a Tallahassee lawyer who had worked with the firm on its Silver Springs offer, the company bowed out after concluding there were too many risks and unknowns to pursue a deal with the state.</p><p><i>Contact Bill Thompson at 867-4117 or at bill.thompson@starbanner.com.</i></p>